haircut / more Christmas thoughts

Of course, when I say "the bangs are back" I really mean :


"my bangs are cut again, but in a shocking new way and style that I've never had". 


But, that doesn't fit or flow as nicely as "the bangs are back" now does it? 

I look like Daphne from Scooby Doo, don't I? hehe 

As an addition to my previous post about my various "grinchy" thoughts regarding Christmas, I've realized that it's not "Christmas" that I'm not getting into the spirit of, it's the society version of Christmas that has me irked. 


It really made me think when I read this from "Let's Keep Christmas" by Peter Marshall.

Have you been saying, "I just can't seem to feel the Christmas spirit this year"?  That's too bad. As a confession of lack of faith, it is rather significant. 

You are saying that you feel no joy that Jesus came into the world.   

You are confessing that his presence in the world is not a reality to you... 

Maybe you need all the more to read the Christmas story over again, need to sit down with the Gospel of Luke and think about it.

I read this, and I was struck with a wave of guilt.  Now, of course I had to take what I read with a grain of salt. Because, it made me realize that what was bugging me wasn't Christmas,  but the society's fluff regarding Christmas. 


A term that's ridiculously overused is "Christmas has become commercialized", and I don't want to say that because I really don't have a huge issue with Christmas being commercialized, everything is commercialized in some way. 
I've realized why Christmas songs have been bugging me this year, and it's because they're insincere.* Popular artists sing "What Child is This?" and "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" without meaning any of the lyrics and go back to their worldly lives and ways. When Frank Sinatra or Weezer sing 

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!

They aren't sincere, they don't believe that Christ is the everlasting Lord. 

And that irks me. 

It is such a joy for me to sing these Christmas songs and hymns in church, because it's the body of believers lifting their voices to the heavens singing 

Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!" 

 and I know they mean it. 

Further along in the book, Peter Marshall also said 

And then you will also remember what Christmas means - the beginning of Christianity...

The second Chance for the world...

                       the hope of peace...

                                    and the only way. 

The promise that the angels sang is the most wonderful music the world has ever heard. "Peace on earth and good will toward men" 

[Christmas] is a promise- God's promise - of what one day will come to pass.

Merry Christmas, everybody. 

p.s I love wrapping presents
p.p.s parents are SO hard to shop for
p.p.p.s I have nothing more to say but I always think adding a "p.p.p.s" is just plain awesome. yeah.

*I say this as a sweeping generalization, of course not everybody who sings these songs are insincere.